Biocultural Diversity in Europe, 1st ed. 2016 Environmental History Series, Vol. 5

The book collects a selection of the papers presented at the meeting held in the context of the Joint Programme on the Links between Biological and Cultural Diversity (JP-BiCuD). Recognizing the inextricable link between biological and cultural diversity, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) joined forces, and in 2010 launched the Joint Programme on the Links between Biological and Cultural Diversity (JP-BiCuD). The first meeting for the implementation of the JP-BiCuD was held in Florence (Italy) in April 2014 and produced the UNESCO-sCBD Florence Declaration, which highlights the concept of biocultural diversity. The European rural territory is predominantly a biocultural, multi-functional landscape, providing a crucial and effective space for integration of biological and cultural diversity, suggesting the need to revise some of the current strategies for the assessment and management of biodiversity.

1. The Traditional Mediterranean Polycultural Landscape as Cultural Heritage: Its Origin and Historical Importance, Its Agro-silvo-pastoral Complexity and the Necessity for its Identification and Inventory.- 2. Connections Between Natural and Cultural Diversity in the Landscape of the Małopolski Vistula Gorge and the Nałęczów Plateau (Eastern Poland).- 3. The Garfagnana Model for Exploiting Agrarian and Cultural Biodiversity: The White Garfagnina Sheep Breed, A Case Study of Sustainable Local Development.- 4. Resilient Agrarian Landscapes in Face of Changes: The Coevolutive Approach to Understand the Links Between Communities and Environmental Characters.- 5. Wooded Grasslands as Part of the European Agricultural Heritage.